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Sifu Cheng Tin Hung, celebrated exponent of the T'ai-chi Ch'uan Style, learned martial art from the great martial artist of North China, Mr. Ch'i. As Sifu Cheng attaches importance both to the improvement of physical fitness and to self-defence, the T'ai-chi Ch'uan and T'ai-chi Kung he teaches are highly valuable practical techniques and are reputed as the practical T'ai-chi Ch'uan. At the "Hongkong-Macau-Taiwan Triangular Kung Fu Tournament" held in Taiwan in 1957, Sifu Cheng Tin Hung borught into play his superb techniques of T'ai-chi Ch'uan and defeated the three-time kung fu champion of Taiwan, Yu Wen-t'ung, to clinch the title and become an idol of martial arts enthusiasts. Sifu Cheng has taught more than 10,000 students over the years. In 1971, his students made such brilliant showings at the Second Southeast Asian Kung Fu Tournament that they won the over-all group championship; In 1973, his students secured the title and the third place of the light "A" class at the Third Southeast Asian Kung Fu Tournament held in Kuala Lumpur; In 1976, a student of Sifu Cheng was the runner-up of the heavy "A" class at the Fourth Southeast Asian Kung Fu Tournament. Sifu Cheng Tin Hung is presently Supervisor of the T'ai-chi Ch'uan Association of Hong Kong, President of the General Association of Kung Fu of Hong Kong and the Vice-President of the General Association of Chinese Martial Arts of Hong Kong. |
| Sifu Cheng Tin Hung. |
BY SIFU CHENG TIN HUNG
The forms shown in the photos of this article are demonstrated by Suen Kong-wah, Peter Lee, Tong Chi Kin and Lai Cheuk Ng. They are all disciples of Sifu Cheng Tin Hung.
The following photos show a demonstration by Sifu Cheng Tin Hung's disciples of the self-defence techniques of T'ai-chi Ch'uan.
Tai-chi Ch'uan has two principles in self-defence, namely,
(1) to overcome motion by tranquility;
(2) to conquer hardness by softness.
The principle of overcoming motion by tranquility has the following meaning and requirement: One should be cool-headed; and when the enemy starts to move, one should move before him.
This is to say, in an engagement with an enemy, before the enemy launches an attack to start an exchange of blows with you, he has not made clear his intention and it is impossible for you to predict just which part of your body he is going to attack. Your best choice is to be on the defensive and calmly watch him. But once your opponent has begun to launch an attack, his intention will be known to you and you will be aware of which part in your body his attack is aimed at. You should then seize the initiative and intercept the attack in the midway. With your skilful method, you tackle the attack by going with it, neutralize it and launch a counterattack.
Therefore, the Tai-chi Ch'uan's Fighting Man's Song" says: "I'll
be at a standstill if my opponent doesn't move, but I'll move first if he shows
the slightest sign of going to move." The essence of the principle of
overcoming motion by tranquility of Tai-chi Ch'uan is to be cool-headed. When
you are cool-headed, you will be able to concentrate your mind and keep yourself
alert. In a fight, you will be able to detect your opponent's movement preluding
an attack. And since you have a clear vision of your opponent's movement, you
will be able to neutralize your opponent's attack in time. But because you
do not move before your opponent has started to move, it will be extremely
difficult for him to observe your movements and determine your intention when
he is already in motion. It will be next to impossible for him to neutralize
your attack. In this way, you will be at an advantage.
Sun Tzu, a celebrated Chinese strategist 2,500 years ago, wrote in his famous
work "The Art of War": "A knowledge of one's own situation and
that of the enemy ensures victory in every battle." The principle of
overcoming motion by tranquility is exactly aimed at securing that knowledge.
Otherwise, if you do not have a correct assessment of your enemy's situation,
and just block and attack arbitrarily, how can you ever win a fight? Therefore,
it is essential to overcome motion by tranquility.
The principle of conquering hardness with softness, in a like manner, has the following meaning and requirement: In coping with force, but skilfully a void his strong points and take advantage of his weakness in your neutralization and counter attacks.
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| The lowered body stance of Tai-chi Ch'uan. This form which is aimed at neutralizing an enemy attack and dragging him, requires highly sensitive response. |
The forms of Tai-chi Ch'uan follow this principle by adapting one's tactics to the enemy's situation rather than adhering to one's own wont. They neutralize force with softness. Therefore, we do not have such movements as blocking and impeding in the forms of tai-chi Ch'uan. To block or impede an enemy attack means the exertion of a large force, and this goes contrary to the principle of conquering hardness with softness. Just the opposite, one uses force-borrowing methods like yielding force and drawing aside to neutralize an attack. Applied in different angles, these two methods branch off into these eight movements: warding off, pulling back, pressing, pushing, pulling down, bending backward, elbow stroking, and shoulder stroking. Now suppose your opponent deals a punch toward your chest, you should lightly touch his wrist with your hand, bring his fist past your body in compliance with his force, thus rendering his attack harmless. In this manner, you use the smallest force to neutralize your opponent's heavy blow. This is called "pulling back" in Tai-chi Ch'uan terminology. That will leave your opponent defenceless, which you can take advantage of by launching a quick counterattack. "The fighting man's song" exactly means this when it says: "Four taels of pulling force can deviate a thousand catties."
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| The "as if shutting a door" form of T'ai-chi Ch'uan. This is to neutralize an opponent's heavy fist-blow with minimum strength and then quickly hit back, taking advantage of the fact that the enemy is instantaneously off his guard. |
It is easy to talk about neutralizing by yielding force and drawing aside on paper, but not so easy to practise. They cannot be brought into play unless you have highly-sensitive reacting ability. If you really want to use these techiques as your mind wills, you must take a wide range of exercises with your sparring partner. Through the exercises, you will progress from being barely able to perform slow actions to dexterity, and then from dexterity to the point where you can apply the techniques at lightning speed. A long period of practical training is, of course, a necessity in this process. You also need careful lectures and patient guidance to learn the correct methods, which are just as important as, for a simile, a correct method in leading an ox. When you tie a rope to an ox's nose, he will obediently follow your order in spite of his heavy build. That is because you are apeing the correct method. But if you do not know the correct method and tie the rope to the ox's leg, will the beast obey your orders? Thus even in leading an ox, you have to use the correct method. So what greater importance will correct methods be in conquering a trained and experienced opponent.
There is another point to be noted with respect to the reasoning of conquering hardness with softness. That is, hardness means strenuous exertion of force, which causes the flotation of ch'i, which in turn makes the heart move. And the movement of heart tends to cause gasping and the sudden increase of blood circulation speed and, consequently, the acceleration ofthe thumping of the heart, resulting in nervousness, dull sensation and rashness. That will be an unfavourable situation that can be taken advantage of by your opponent. In contrast, softness avoids the use of awkward force, making one agile in the body, hands, waist and legs, freeing one from getting nervous, and making one keen in sensation. In an encounter, if you know your opponent's strength and weakness, while he does not know yours, you will have a great superiority. That is the reasoning behind the use of softness to conquer hardness.
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| The "brush knee and twist step" form of T'ai-chi Ch'uan. In coping with an enemy attack, one should not meet force with force, instead, one should avoid where the enemy is strong, and neutralize and counterattack where he is weak. |
Among the forms of Tai-chi Ch'uan, there are not a few felling techinques. Thus we have, for example, Step Back and Repulse Monkey, Snake Creeps Down, White Crane Flaps Its Wings, and Lotus Sweeping Kick.
If, in a self-defence, you are very close to your opponent, it will not be wise to get entangled with him. The better tactic is to use felling techniques to throw him down by borrowing his momentum.
On top of a skilful mastery of the forms, keen sensation and quick action, the key to the felling techniques is to be tranquil, avoid answering force with force, go with the opponent's movement, and use your skill to render his force ineffectual before felling him to the ground.
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| The "high pat the horse" form of T'ai-chi Ch'uan. When you have learned which part in your body the opponent wants to attack, you should take the initiative, and intercept and neutralize the enemy attack in the midway, and then hit back. |
In practising felling, one must first understand that if an opponent is strong in the upper section, his lower section will certainly be weak; if he is strong in the right, he will surely be weak in the left; if both his upper and lower sections are strong, then his middle section will surely be a weak point. An understanding of this principle helps one secure superiority.
Thus if your opponent's hand strength is focussed above, the lower part will
be drifting. But if he is exerting force from below, the upper part will surely
be a void. You should give a wide berth to his strong points and attack his weak,
void points, and do that rapidly. If you spot even a small opening, you should
take the initiative and attack him where he is unprepared. But you must judge
accurately and watch out for any trap possibly laid by your opponent.
Getting trapped can place you at a disadvantage, or even get you felled to
the ground. It is best to move only after he has started to move so that you
will have full knowledge of where are his strong points and where are his weak
points. You will then be able to neutralize his attack according to the way
he exerts his force, and, in the meantime, launch a counter attack. But what
if he refuses to make any advance? In that case you should lure him
into a movement by pretending that there is a loophole which you have neglected
to guard. It will lead him into a trap. But creating favourable situation in
this way is possible only to persons with a comparatively high level of achievement
behind him.
The exercise of felling is done through practice. The experiences secured in practice have to be combined with theory to attain a thorough understanding and to effect a rapid progress.
In tackling an enemy attack, put into practice the T'ai-chi Ch'uan principle of conquering movement with tranquility and checking hardness with softness, and use the methods of neutralizing and dragging.
